


Out of the Hockey Rink and Down the Rabbit Hole

by Black_market_orchids_and_books



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Alice in Wonderland Fusion, I don't hate Jack btw, If you squint you can see the Parse/Swoops, M/M, Promise I'm not trying to villianize him, Sorry About These Tags, Sorry it's not more there, This is mostly about Kent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-06
Updated: 2019-06-06
Packaged: 2020-04-05 21:21:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19048663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Black_market_orchids_and_books/pseuds/Black_market_orchids_and_books
Summary: "There were labels on the bottle and the plate that held the cake; the former said ‘Drink Me’ while the latter said ‘Eat Me.’ Kent had to laugh at that. This was some weird kind of Alice in Wonderland shit. Still, he couldn’t just unfall through the hole. The only way out of here was through that door..."Kent Parson has become Alice, left to wander Wonderland to find a way out again. Everything about Wonderland is just strange and there is this vague sense of familiarity that Kent gets from the people he meets there, but he just can't remember. Why is all of this happening? He was just trying to practice when it all started...





	Out of the Hockey Rink and Down the Rabbit Hole

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, y'all! (lmao not to sound like bitty but like I unironically use y'all all the time) So this is actually the first Check Please Fanfic that I have ever written so i hope you like it. I had a lot of fun writing for this reverse bang, which was the first one that I ever did. The support from my artist and the other members of the reverse bang discord server was truly amazing and I really appreciate it. My artist is Sophia_Prester here on archive and missweber on tumblr. The art was amazing and I had truly hoped I would be able to write something that does it justice. Here is the link to the art and I will also have the art within the story as well: https://missweber.tumblr.com/post/185395982837/these-are-my-pieces-for-this-years
> 
> My beta for my story is giraffeter both on here and on tumblr. I would like to thank her for her phenomenal work on my story because I don't know I would have done without her help. She really helped this fic read well since my tense was very much all over the place. 
> 
> I also would like to thank wjpoindexters and dellessa for their oc names for the members of the Aces team. Even though they are only really mentioned a little by name, it helped me since I know next to nothing about Hockey and was scared to make characters with hockey nicknames since I know nothing. 
> 
> Anyway, I think I have rambled here enough, and I hope you all enjoy my Kent in Wonderland tale.

     It is a rarity that Kent is the last one in the rink at night. Usually he has Jack with him, and sometimes Jack stays even later than Kent does.

     However, today it is the opposite. Jack had to leave early for some kind of dinner with his parents, and it left Kent practicing on his own.

     It was not too late into the evening yet; the sun was just starting to set through the windows of the rink. It meant that Kent could practice a little while longer before he would have to go home.

     Kent had skated to a stop to catch his breath when he heard an odd noise. A noise that was definitely out of place and shouldn’t be there, considering the fact that Kent was the last person on the ice and there weren’t more than three people working in the rink that evening. It sounded like something crashing to the floor and some kind of shouted exclamation, but Kent could not make out any kind of words from behind the plexiglass that surrounded the rink itself.

     Noises like that in a skating rink were bound to be a problem, and Kent figured maybe he should go check on it. Something crashing could be very bad. He didn’t want anyone or anything to be hurt.

     When Kent got to what he thought was the source of the noise, a small hallway that held some lockers that came off the rink, the oddest sight greeted him. The lockers that had lined the wall were now on the floor, with a wide hole behind where they would have been. _That’s impossible._ The crash had not been loud enough to be the lockers falling over. Kent turned to the other person in the hallway in disbelief about the lockers, when he stopped dead in his tracks.

     The person in front of him was dressed in the oddest fashion. Unlike Kent in his practice gear, the man in front of him wore some kind of tailcoat that was way too formal for someone in a skating rink. The clothes were not the weirdest part; that had to be the long white rabbit ears that seem to sprout from the man’s hair. Before Kent could actually say anything, the man pulled out a ridiculously large pocket watch, one that had an intricate shark design on it for some reason, and exclaimed, “Oh gosh, I am running so late! I need to get going!”

     The strange man suddenly ran off, directly into the hole that stood behind the lockers. Now, Kent was usually a lot smarter than this. He knew he shouldn’t follow strangers into strange holes that definitely shouldn’t be there. But there was something vaguely familiar about the odd man. Something that was nagging Kent’s brain and before he knew it, he was following him.

     Inside the hole it looked nothing like the skating rink at all. Kent had imagined it would at least be like the building he left behind, but he was wrong. Gone were the dull painted walls and dark carpet, replaced immediately with dirt as if there were some kind of cave. It was so hard to walk on when Kent still had his skates on, so he took them off for fear of a twisted ankle. He knew an injury like that could be a career ender if he wasn’t careful. He was without shoes now, carrying his skates in his hand instead.

     By now, the strange man was completely out of sight, but there was only one way to go in the tunnel so Kent followed it. He was not quite sure how long he was walking, only that he knew that there was no way that this was still part of the skating rink anymore.

     All of Kent’s thoughts on the tunnel were interrupted as his foot slipped out from under him. It wasn’t that Kent is a clumsy person. It was just that the tummel floor suddenly had a steep decline, more than he could handle. Kent fell, just adding to the number of bruises he had, and began to slip down. Well, it was honestly more like falling down a hole.

     While Kent fell, the walls of this cave-turned-hole lit up with hundreds of colored lights. Slot machines, roulette tables and poker chips: they all decorated the walls, and Kent could barely take it all in as he fell. He tried to reach out to the walls and managed to grab ahold of the handle to a slot machine. Unfortunately, the handle just pulled down as he continued to fall and his grip slipped from the handle. It seemed to be that he struck a jackpot as he fell, since coins started to shower from above him.

     Kent expected to feel the fall when he landed, even through his pads, but he didn’t. He was sure that he would still have bruises from it tomorrow. Even the coins showering from the ceiling did not seem to hurt or actually hit him as they rained down.

     Once Kent had taken a moment to gather himself from his very strange fall, he looked around where he had landed. This new room was unlike the tunnel or even the hole he had fell down. It looked like a parlor, like one that only rich people had in their houses. However, there wasn’t much furniture, simply a table, and there was only one door in the room. One door that was, terribly, too small for him to fit through.

     “What the hell is this?” He asked to no one in particular. There was no sign of the strange man with rabbit ears, or anyone else.

     The table held a small key that Kent could only assume went to the only door in the room, as well as a bottle and a piece of cake. There were labels on the bottle and the plate that held the cake; the former said ‘Drink Me’ while the latter said ‘Eat Me.’

     Kent had to laugh at that. This was some weird kind of _Alice in Wonderland_ shit. Still, he couldn’t just unfall through the hole. The only way out of here was through that door, which he was too large to even crawl through. “Alright, alright, I get it,” he said to himself as he picked the key and then opened the bottle to take a swig.

     Except, well, instead of the bottle making him smaller so that he could fit through the door, it made him bigger. He grew until his head hit the ceiling. “Fuck,” he cried out while trying to reach for the cake. The bottle was supposed to make him smaller, wasn’t it? Well if not the bottle, than the cake must be what makes him smaller.

     A bite of cake and he was shrinking down now. It was an awkward feeling, the stretch and then the shrinking. Not painful, but just uncomfortable. “Damn it,” he cursed as he was finally the right size to make it through the door in front of him.

     Once he unlocked the door, it swung open with the lightest touch. Through the doorway was a giant garden. One that was filled with plants that reached well over Kent’s now tiny form. It made him feel even smaller than the actual shrinking from the cake he had eaten.

     As he walked through the garden, he mused about all of the different kinds of plants there. There were so many kinds of plants that he recognized from the garden that he had at home; all plants that his younger sister convinced their mother they should get and plant. There were peonies, lilies, hydrangeas, daffodils and daisies. Kent’s sister made sure to tell him all of the names of the things she planted because, in her words, a man that knows his way around flowers is hot. He would never stop rolling his eyes at her saying that.

     However, there was one good thing about knowing each of these flowers: there are many flowers that are toxic to cats if the cat eats them. Like right now. Ahead of him on the path was a large cat that was sniffing one of the daffodils and looking like it wanted to take a bite out of the petals.

     Kent called out to the cat without a second thought about talking to the creatures in Wonderland. “Stop, don’t eat that.” His voice was loud enough for the cat to hear him, but he did not raise his tone like he was yelling at the cat. He kept his posture relaxed, and approached the cat slowly and calmly.

     He wasn’t quite sure why, but Kent felt immediate love and protectiveness as he looked at this cat. While he had always loved cats, he had never had a cat of his own since his mother was allergic to cats. The cat did not run off as Kent slowly approached, and that was enough to bring a smile to Kent’s face.

     “Hi there,” he offered sweetly as he presented his hand for the cat to sniff. “Sweetheart, you are just as gorgeous as that flower, but you shouldn’t eat that. It’s poisonous.” As the giant cat moved to sniff his hand, he could see a collar around the cat’s neck with a large shiny tag hanging from it. Engraved on the tag in beautiful cursive was a name: Kit. “Your name is Kit? That is a beautiful name.”

     As he said that, the cat’s posture shifted a bit and he saw the cat’s mouth curl into a grin that was unnatural on a cat. Then, of course, the cat spoke, “I should hope you think so, Kent.”

     Kent knew the creatures in Wonderland spoke, but he had not expected this cat to know his name. He took a step back from the cat in disbelief. “What do you mean?”

     “Ah, well. It’s too soon for that now, Kent Parson. In time, you will see. For now, enjoy your time in Wonderland.” The cat, Kit, told him this with that grin. Her body faded from view, even as the grin remained. This just left Kent even more confused than before.

     “How the hell am I supposed to enjoy my time in this ridiculous place? Why should I? I just want to get out of here.” He was supposed to be practicing right now. The hockey skates felt heavy in his hand as he cursed himself for following the strange rabbit person away from the rink.

      In front of Kent, there was only one direction to go unless he would like to return to the room that leads to nowhere. And with that thought in mind, Kent continued forward. Kit’s grin only started to fade as he walked away down the path. “What did they say in the book again? A cat without a grin but not a grin without a cat?” Kent ends up musing to himself as he walks the path, almost surprised by how few people he has encountered so far.

     After a while of walking, Kent came to a split within the road in front of him. Neither way looked promising, offering nothing but more flowers lining the path in either direction. He was about to just pick a random direction when he saw the ends of that damn tailcoat. “Wait!” He started to call out to the stranger, but they were gone in an instant. Kent was not all that sure if he just imagined the person, but he followed in that direction alway. Better to follow someone who knew the place than to get lost here.

     Not too far down the path to the right that he followed, Kent came upon a giant mushroom. Or maybe it was a normal mushroom for this place, given the size of the flowers? It didn’t truly matter. He spied a caterpillar on top of the mushroom. Well, he thought it was a caterpillar. She looked like a caterpillar, but she also had a face that looked quite familiar for reasons that Kent couldn’t explain.

     “Yo, don’t you know that it’s really rude to just stare like that?” She interrupted Kent’s train of thought before he could figure out how he knew her, and blew a puff of smoke at him. Kent wasn’t sure how she was holding the blunt, since the caterpillar didn’t quite have fingers to hold it between, but it remained secured enough for her to smoke it.

     “I was trying to figure out where I have seen you before,” Kent answered her as he coughed from the smoke. The nagging feeling wouldn’t go away, but he couldn’t find an answer either.

     “The answer to that question depends. Who are you?” she asked, and Kent’s response was immediate.

     “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

     “But, I am asking you. Who are you?” Another puff of smoke and another cough from Kent. He tried to shift away from the smoke, but it still seemed to follow him.

     “Kent Parson, #90, alternate captain, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.” He rattled it off as if it was a list that he needed to fulfill. It always felt like a list. A list that came in two parts. Jack Zimmermann and Kent Parson. #1 and #90. Captain and Alternate Captain. Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. But that was who they were.

     “Yes, yes. Kent Parson. Sure, but who are you?” The caterpillar asked the question again like that answer was not enough for her.

     “I am from New York,” Kent tried to give to her as he supposed that she might have wanted a more general answer instead.

     “Sure, that might be where you are from, but who are _you_?” She asked it with emphasis that time and Kent was not sure what she wanted.

     “I am an older brother with an annoying younger sister,” Kent tried this time, but from the roll of the caterpillar’s eyes showed that that wasn’t the correct answer either.

     “Of course you are, but that still doesn’t tell me _who you are_ ,” The caterpillar’s tone hadn’t really changed as she repeated the question, but Kent could tell she was trying to emphasis something.

     “Jack Zimmermann’s best friend.” He figured that would satisfy her question once and for all, but for some reason, as he said it, he had a sour taste in his mouth, as if that was some kind of lie.

     “Who. Are. You.” The caterpillar insisted again, drawing out the question so that it felt more like a statement with each word punctuated with another puff of that incessant smoke.

     “I don’t know what you want from me!” Kent ended up shouting at the caterpillar, frustrated by the repeated question and far too chill attitude that she was giving him. “I am Kent Parson, and that is all you need to know. If you want to know more, look me up.” His response was given in a hot tone that showed his frustration. Still, the words had spilled forth without Kent really thinking, and now he wasn’t even sure what he meant by _look him up_.

     “Well, Parson, seems to me like you are starting to get it now. Tell Shits that I said hey, will ya?” she told him, and just as she was about to turn away from him, she said, “Oh, I suppose I should tell you. That side of the mushroom can make you bigger; this side of the mushroom can make you smaller.” With that, the caterpillar turned completely away from Kent and went about ignoring him in favor of smoking, even when he grabbed pieces of each side of the mushroom.

     He was hesitant to eat either side of the mushroom, given the smoke that the caterpillar had been blowing at him, but it seemed that he needed to be bigger if he wanted to get out of this garden.

     The mushroom tasted strange, but Kent could not quite place the taste as one specific thing. It took several tries to get the right combination of the two sides of the mushroom to get him back normal size. One bite would make him too big, while a bite of the other would make him even smaller than before. It was frustrating as hell, and Kent couldn’t keep from cursing up a storm as he ate the last bites of mushroom to become the right size.

     The right size, meaning that he was now standing over the flowers that had been taller than him before, and he could see a gate in front of him. Kent tried his best to stay to the path so as to not crush the flowers, but the path was smaller now. Still, he could already hear his little sister’s lectures about stepping on flowers if she were to know about any of this. It’s unlikely that she would find out, but thinking about his sister was comforting in this place.

     Within the gate, Kent found one of the oddest sights, which he seemed to be thinking a lot lately, but this topped everything else in Wonderland. There was a long table, equipped with a long white table cloth and fine china. Except, well, instead of normal food and drinks being served upon the china, there was a keg near the table that the drinks were getting poured from, and there was a nice glass punch bowl that is filled to the brim with something that Kent can’t even begin to guess. The table looked like it was set for an elegant tea party, but had been used for drinks that were quite different from tea as the many, many stains on the tablecloth showed.

     “Tub juice! Get your tub juice here!” a voice called out, and Kent was startled from his looking around by one of the table’s three occupants. The one that had just shouted was wearing the most ridiculous and hideous hat that Kent had ever seen, covering up a decent flow. The other two occupants had yet to say anything, but one of them had white rabbit ears similar to the person that Kent followed into Wonderland, that seemed to sprout from the person’s blonde hair, and the other occupant kept his rested on the table, seeming to be asleep as his mouse ears barely twitched at the noise.

     “There is plenty more where that came from. Where that came from being the tub.” The man with the hat called out as he stirred the punch bowl of mystery liquid, presumably making it the ‘tub juice.’ The bowl was filled way too full, and the stirring motion caused it to overflow. The man didn’t seem to pay any mind to the juice staining the tablecloth.

     “What is this?” Kent asked the three occupants of the table, and they seem to light up when they really noticed him. Well, two of them lit up; the mouse remained asleep at the table.

     “What the hell do you think it is? It’s a fucking party, of course.” The man with the hat continued to stir the juice and his volume was close to shouting. He began to pour some of the juice into one of the teacups that were scattered about the table and handed it off to Kent, while pushing him into a seat at the end of the table. “Haven’t you been to a freaking party before?”

     There was no way to Kent to decline the teacup full of ‘tub juice’ that was being handed to him. It was nearly as overflowing as the punch bowl had been, and some of it spilled in the passing between himself and the near-madman who had given him the juice. It smelled faintly sweet, with an odor that nearly masked that sweetness with how strong it is. The odor was familiar in a way that Kent could not really place, just like so many other things in Wonderland, but it also made his stomach turn at the smell of it. Looking up from the drink, he realized that the members of the table were staring at him and he realized that he had gotten lost in the drink rather than answering the question that had been directed at him. “No, not really.” He was usually too busy for parties with his hockey. He supposed that he’d been to some things at Jack’s place, but those were hosted by Bob and Alicia, so he didn’t really think those counted. They definitely weren’t like this, whatever this party truly was.

     The man with the hat shook his head at Kent’s answer. “Well, that simply isn’t true, now is it?” Kent didn’t understand and gave the man a confused look. “Kent Parson-”

     “Was leading the league in points and assists-” The one with the rabbit ears added, and it seemed to prompt the sleepy mouse to wake up and add onto it.

     “Was on a 31-game point streak.”

     “Yes yes, Kent Parson of the Las Vegas Aces, has not really been to a party. That’s a goddamn lie, now isn’t it?” The man with the hat laughed like the three had some kind of inside joke that Kent had no idea about. He was clueless about what they were going on about, but he also didn’t feel the urge to deny it or argue with them. He didn’t play for the Las Vegas Aces, or in the NHL at all, but words of denial didn’t find themselves anywhere but in his head.

     In all the confusion, Kent could only get out a simple question. “Who are you people?”

     The man in the hat perks up and decides to answer the question first. “I’m called Shitty, though I suppose I am more often called the Mad Hatter. I don’t have the faintest idea why, though.” Even as he answered the question, he was stirring his precious ‘tub juice’ that Kent had yet to take a drink of.

     “I’m Holster, and I must say, these ears are very new for me and my bro, but I guess that makes me the March Hare and Ransom over there the Dormouse, since we are here with Shits.” The man with the rabbit ears (or perhaps they were hare ears, but Kent didn’t know if there was a difference) said before pointing over to his companion, who was already asleep again.

     Kent wasn’t quite so sure how to take their introductions, but the nickname that the Hare used for the Hatter reminded Kent. “Oh, Hatter. The Caterpillar said hey.”

     This caused the Hatter to punch his fist in the air, spilling more of the ‘tub juice’ which never seemed to run out, always brimming with liquid. “Hells yeah! Thanks, Parson, for delivering Lards’ message.”

     Shitty, Lards, Holster, Ransom. All of these names were so weird, even with the hints of familiarity in them that Kent had no idea where they were coming from. He could swear he’d never met these people before, not even on the ice, since it seemed like they had hockey nicknames more than real names for these people.

     “Yo, Parson, I have a question for you,” the Hatter interrupted his thoughts before they could go any farther and Kent looked at him. “How is an ace like a pie?”

     “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Kent asked in confusion. It was a stupid question that doesn’t make any kind of sense.

     “Just what I said. How is an ace like a pie?” the Hatter repeated himself, and the question didn’t make any more sense the second time.

     “How is an ace like a pie?” The March Hare repeated the question with an amused grin that pissed Kent off.

     “What kind of ace are you even talking about?” Kent said, frustrated, as the members of the party started to get under his skin.

     “An ace card, what other kind of ace?” The Dormouse seemed to wake up just to say that, before promptly falling back to sleep again.

     Despite getting an answer that at least attempted to clarify the question, it did nothing for Kent’s frustration. Of course, an ace card, what else could they possibly mean?!? Ha. It was all so stupid, because it made absolutely no sense at all. Kent scoffed in the Hatter’s face. “I don’t have a clue how the two are alike. Tell me.”

     Despite Kent’s frustration, the party goers seemed quite amused. “Tell him, he says.” The Hare said merrily with a slight mock in his voice.

     The Hatter busted out laughing at the Hare’s remark, and it was enough to even wake the Dormouse. “He demands an answer I don’t know to that question.” Even after the Hatter’s laughter died down, his sentence was interrupted by several giggles.

     “Don’t know? You are the one who-”

     “Do you know what makes this party the best? It is always 5 o’clock in this garden. It never moves from that point. Always 5 fucking o’clock. Perfect for drinking, don’t ya know?” The Hatter cut off Kent’s frustrations with his rambling, and it only annoyed Kent farther.

     “The best? This is the worst party that I have never been invited to,” Kent huffs as he gets up from the table. He knocked over his untouched tub juice as he stood up, but he didn’t really care. After all, this was all so ridiculous, and he had sat through enough of it.

     In a huff, Kent just left the party without any more words to the three occupants. They all shared a startled look as they watched Kent leave the garden through a completely different gate than the one he had entered through. The Dormouse quickly fell back asleep while the Hatter and March Hare shared a look. “Looks like it is time for Alice to see the Queen,” the Hatter remarked to the Hare, though Kent would never hear those words.

     Kent did not have the faintest idea where he was going. That could be said about his whole experience in Wonderland, but especially now. Out of the Hatter’s garden, the scenery quickly changed from the garden of flowers to the woods, where the trees almost looked like they were hiding something in every branch. It was unsettling, and it soon got to the point that Kent wasn’t sure which way he was going anymore. His frustration had slowly left him as he got away from the Hatter and company, and he just walked.

     “Lost our way, haven’t we?” A voice called out from one of the trees, and its sudden appearance caused Kent to jump. A grin was all he can see at first, before the head and then body of Kit appeared in the tree. She seemed to lounging in the tree as if she wasn’t lost at all, and was just saying that for Kent’s sake. “Hello there, Kent.”

     “Hey, Kit. How did you get up there?” Kent asked in a sweet voice that his sister would call ridiculous. ‘Cats don’t need to be talked to any differently than people,’ her words exactly.

     “Oh darling, I go wherever I want here. Anywhere I please in Wonderland, I can appear.” Kit’s grin was the widest he had ever seen it and she was starting to fade again.

     “Wait, where is here exactly?” Kent asked, because as much as he hated to admit it, he had no idea where he was right now. And he really did not want to go back to that wretched party.

     “Oh? Here is the woods.” Kit gestures around them when she says that. “Over that direction is the garden, where you came from. Over this direction is the Queen’s castle, where you are going.” Kit flicked her tail in the directions that she was pointing out.

     “The Queen?” Kent asked in confusion. He knew the story of Alice in Wonderland well enough, but he had not really imagined this Wonderland having a Queen. Hell, he had no idea who the Queen would be. Not that he really knew who everyone else was either.

     “Yes, the Queen. Your white rabbit trailed down this road a while ago, though I don’t know how much you still care to follow that rabbit. Still, you will want to see the Queen, Kent.” Kit’s lazy grin should have frustrated Kent just like the Hatter and Hare’s pestering had, but it didn’t. Kent feels strangely comforted by the Cheshire Cat, with that same familiarity that everyone else in Wonderland had, but she feels better. Kent doesn’t need to know how he knows Kit, he just knows that he does.

     “Why do I want to see the Queen?”

     “All in time, Kent. All in very good time.” Kit faded away just like last time with that comment, and Kent was just left with the trees and two ways he could travel. With a sigh at how vague and unfamiliar-yet-familiar everything here seemed to be, Kent followed the direction that the Cheshire Cat told him led to the Queen’s castle.

     Kent was surprised that the entrance of the castle did not seem to have any kind of guards at all. Despite it being a castle for the monarchs of Wonderland, Kent was still able to stroll right in without any questions. Once he was inside the castle, he found out exactly why he could just stroll through the entrance.

     The guards (who were cards, obviously) all seemed to scrambling around the inner courtyard of the castle, fixing things. He couldn’t quite tell what the courtyard was being set for, but it seemed to be very important. One of the cards ran by Kent with a bucket of paint in hand before going over to some of the flowers that were planted in the courtyard.

     “What are you doing?!” Kent asked in alarm when the card guard started painting one of the flowers. Paint couldn’t be good for the flower at all, and they were surely killing the flowers.

     “The wrong flowers were planted. They have to be painted, or the Queen will have our heads.” The card didn’t even look up from his painting as he answered Kent’s question. Kent tried to protest further when he was interrupted by the blare of horns announcing someone’s arrival.

     The door into the castle opened, and first, the White Rabbit from before stepped out. “Please welcome the Queen and King of Wonderland,” the Rabbit announced, before stepping to the side to allow the monarchs to exit the castle. All of the cards around Kent stood at attention for the arrival, not a single guard looking away or doing something else.

     The first one to step out of the castle was…well, it was Jack. Jack fucking Zimmermann. It was Jack, but it wasn’t exactly _his_ Jack. It wasn’t the Jack that he had just had practice with before all of this Wonderland nonsense, the one that was supposed to be having dinner with his parents, that left Kent to practice late alone. This Jack was older. He looked more tired, but so much more comfortable in his skin, and Kent couldn’t help but wonder if that was because Jack was older.

     Jack paused in the entrance of the castle as someone else stepped out. It was a guy. A small-but-built guy who walked with a purpose that almost made him seem as tall as Jack. A guy with blond hair and a smile that looked as genuine as Kent’s was sarcastic. There was a pit of acid in Kent’s stomach as he watched Jack link arms with the blond before the two of them continued together.

     The White Rabbit greeted the monarchs as the two of them stopped in front of him. “My Queen.” The Rabbit bowed to Jack. “My King.” The Rabbit then bowed to the blonde at Jack’s side. “The preparations are almost ready for this afternoon.”

     The King thanked the Rabbit, while Jack surveyed the courtyard that the cards had been preparing before their arrival. Jack spotted the paint, and the card holding the brush, but before he could say anything about it, he also spotted Kent.

     When Kent locked eyes with Jack, the Queen of Hearts, it almost felt like things stopped. The rest of Wonderland was gone and it was just Jack. But it must have just been him that felt like that, since Jack immediately started walking towards him.

     “What are you doing here?” Jack asked him in a voice that was rough and almost angry.

     “I honestly don’t know. I was practicing and-”

     “You shouldn’t be here! It’s pointless.” Jack’s voice got harsher by the minute and their conversation was not a quiet one. It even caught the attention of the King, who was across the courtyard.

     “Darlin’, please.” The King came to join them as quickly as possible, presumably from the almost upset tone that Jack had used.

     Kent was… confused. Never mind the King, Kent didn’t understand Jack’s reaction to him at all. Kent truly didn’t know how or why he was in Wonderland. A slight curiosity about the strange White Rabbit might have led him down the rabbit hole, but there seemed to be some kind of bigger reason Kent was here. A reason that Kent did not know at all.

     “Jack, I don’t kno-” Kent was interrupted by Jack before he could say anymore.

     “That is not the way to address royalty, Parson. If you don’t understand why you are here, we will play a game of hockey.” Without a word further, Jack turned to leave, and it was actually the King who gestured for Kent to follow the pair out of the courtyard. The King, who seemed to hold no warmth towards Kent at all; Kent could see it in his eyes.

     Kent followed Jack and the King through the castle for quite a while. It felt like they were walking forever, and they just kept making turns until Kent was wondering how big this castle actually was. Finally, Jack stopped in front of a large door and opened it. Within the surprisingly massive room was an ice rink, one that was perfect for playing hockey. Kent briefly wondered how the rink stayed frozen, when the room didn’t really feel cold.

     “You are going to be over there. The spade guards will act as your team, and your equipment will be over there as well.” Jack instructed, before he went to the other side of the rink with the King.

     Kent was still so surprised that the castle seemed to have a fully functioning hockey rink in it, but he supposed that he shouldn’t be surprised. This was Jack after all.

     Kent went around to the side of the rink that Jack had pointed to, and immediately looked around for the equipment that Jack had mentioned. Playing against Jack was absolutely a serious thing, and there was no fooling around that could happen. Kent started by putting on the skates that he had been practicing in before Wonderland and had since been carrying around with him. The rest of the gear that he would need was sitting on the bench waiting for him, with a jersey underneath it all. Once he had on what he needed, except for his helmet and gloves, he inspected the jersey. Number 90, his number. The jersey itself was for the Las Vegas Aces, and Kent’s hand lingered on the C on the jersey. The jersey didn’t seem like his but when he put it on, it fit perfectly.

     Kent turned to the cards that were to serve as his team and, strangely, he recognized all of their faces. Kent had to get over his shock quickly, because taking down Jack was serious business, Kent knew that. “Alright guys, here is what we are going to do. Collie, you are in goal, Reedy and Carl defense, Mickey my other wing, and Swoops…” Kent’s voice sounded strange, different when he spoke, but he ignored it in favor of getting his line. Except well… Swoops wasn’t there, wasn’t part of the card guards in front of him. Kent quickly shook his head and said instead, “Scraps center.” The cards in front of him all nodded and followed Kent’s lead. It was a strange feeling.

     Before Kent could go onto the ice, Kent looked around for his stick, and when he couldn’t find one, one of his teammates tapped him on the shoulder before handing him a flamingo. Seriously, a flamingo? “What the hell is this?”

     “The hockey stick,” the card replied in almost a sheepish manner at Kent’s incredulous tone.

     Kent had no clue how he was supposed to play with a freaking flamingo as a hockey stick, but he wasn’t going to let Wonderland and Jack beat him like this. “Fucking ridiculous,” Kent mumbled as he stepped onto the ice to face off with Jack.

     If Kent’s team looked strange, with one person and the rest being cards, then Jack’s team looked downright silly. The Queen was joined on the ice by the King, the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, the Dormouse (who was surprisingly fully awake now), and the White Rabbit. A strange bunch, but Kent knew not to underestimate them. If Jack was choosing to play with them, then they must be good.

     Even more ridiculous than flamingo hockey sticks had to be the fact that the hockey puck wasn’t actually a puck at all. It was a poor turtle. Kent almost felt bad for the turtle and he gave a look to Jack that was supposed to ask if he was serious about this. This almost didn’t resemble hockey anymore, and Kent could hardly believe that Jack would allow that.

     A whistle blew from somewhere, and the game started. Kent wanted to play as he normally would, but the sticks didn’t really allow for that. Kent’s flamingo didn’t want to cooperate with him, and honestly, Kent didn’t exactly blame it. Except, Kent wanted to beat Jack. He wasn’t certain why Jack wants to play hockey now, other than that he was Jack, but Kent felt this need to beat him.

     Jack’s team seemed very used to this kind of hockey, and handled the unusual hockey sticks with an ease that Kent didn’t understand. Hell, even Kent’s team seemed experienced in using the flamingos, and it left Kent the only one struggling.

     Kent brought his flamingo to eye level so that he might be able to get some kind of understanding with it. The turtle puck was right in front of him, and yet he was still having trouble hitting it.

     “Well, you are looking more like yourself now.” A familiar voice suddenly appeared near Kent and all it took was a glance to confirm that Kit had appeared again. This time, she was floating near the wall, and with everything that was happening in the game, Kent felt a bit concerned that Kit might get hurt. A foolish concern about the Cheshire Cat, but Kent couldn’t help feel that way about Kit.

      Kent remained staring at his flamingo as he addressed Kit, “You have the oddest timing for showing up.”

      “On the contrary, I think I have the best timing,” Kit remarked with a wide grin.

     It was at this moment that Jack noticed the Cheshire Cat. The strange hockey game came to a halt. “Who let you in here? You aren’t supposed to be here.” The amount of alarm in Jack’s voice was surprising. “Guards, seize the cat. I’ll have its head.”

     As soon as Jack said that, Kent moved between the Jack and Kit, determined to make sure that Jack didn’t hurt her. Kent couldn’t see it behind his back, but the Cheshire Cat simply grinned widely at the Queen’s order before Kit’s body faded from view, leaving just her head.

     One of the cards spoke - Collie, Kent thought, but he also didn’t take his eyes off of Jack. “Queen, we can’t behead it if it is simply a head.”

     Jack looked at the card and then back to Kent as he stood in between Jack and the Cheshire Cat. “Parson, move.”

     “Absolutely not.” Kent stood firm, and behind him, Kit’s head faded from view, leaving just her smile.

     “Time to go. See you later, Kent.” And with that, the last traces of Kit disappeared and Jack looked away from Kent.

     “I want you all to search the castle, make sure that pest is no longer on the property anymore.” Jack ordered the guards, seemingly a bit calmer now that the Cheshire Cat was gone.

     “What the hell-” Before Kent could really question the reaction that Jack had to Kit, the White Rabbit approached Jack from his position at the goal.

     “My Queen, if the game is not stopped, we will be late for court this afternoon,” the White Rabbit explained to Jack, and Jack nodded. Kent had hoped the game wouldn’t continue, since Jack had ordered away all of Kent’s team. Beating Jack was important, but impossible with just Kent against Jack and his team.

     “Ah yes, the trial. I forgot that was to happen.” Jack turned to leave the rink as he remembered, and was followed by the rest of his team. In fact, Jack passed Kent without a second thought, barely giving Kent a second glance as he seemed to prepare for this trial. What the hell?

     Kent left the ice quickly, letting go of his flamingo as soon as he was out of the rink. He had to admit to a bit of curiosity about this trial that seemed to all of a sudden take all of Jack’s attention. He quickly took off the extra gear and his skates, in hopes of being able to follow them to wherever this trial was being held.

     The castle was a mess of turns with the card guards racing around to look for Kit, but Kent managed to follow well enough to make his way to where the trial was being held. That, of course, happened to be the courtyard, so the trial must have been what they were preparing for.

     Kent had just gotten settled into the crowd of spectators when it seemed that the trial was about to begin. The White Rabbit played a trumpet before clearing his throat.

     “Now presenting the trial of the Knave of Hearts, for crimes against the Queen. The King shall act judge of this trial while citizens of Wonderland serve as the jury. The Queen of Hearts will now tell the court the crimes that the Knave is accused of.”

     Kent looked around the court as the White Rabbit spoke, taking in the King and then the jury. There was an odd assortment of creatures that made up the jury that must have been the citizens of Wonderland. Then Kent looked to the defendant, and, well, his stomach swooped.

     “Jeff Troy, the Knave of Hearts, stands today accused of the crime of being stuck in the past.”

     While Swoops had been missing earlier from Kent’s line, he was now standing before Kent with some kind of chains binding his wrists. It was distressing, to say the least.

     And what the hell was that ridiculous charge about? Being stuck in the past? That was not a crime that Kent had ever heard of. It was not even a crime. Was it really a bad thing when you wanted something to last? When you wanted your best friend back? When you wanted to play with the person that might matter most to you again? How was the past a bad thing when that was what held all of the good things that he and Jack once had?

     It didn’t seem right, and it was absolutely unfair. It was hardly something that someone could really help, sometimes, so how can you go on trial for something so goddamn silly?

     And of all the people to be charged of this crime, Swoops, really? Kent has known Swoops almost since he joined the Aces. He had never heard of anything like that with Swoops.

     “Well, with all of this evidence presented and the defendant’s testimony, has the jury reached a verdict?” The King’s voice cut through Kent’s thoughts like a knife. He had gotten so caught up in his head that he had missed most of the trial against Swoops.  

     “This is ridiculous!” Kent found himself exclaiming before he could stop himself. While Kent has never been to a trial before, he still knew that this behavior was not appropriate.

     Still, the King looked down at Kent from where he sat at the judge’s bench. “Oh? And who are you to speak of this man’s crimes? Especially when you are very much guilty of the exact same crimes.”

     Kent steeled himself under the King’s gaze. “It is ridiculous to call such a thing a crime.”

     “You dare try to defend the Knave, when you cannot defend yourself against the same crimes,” the King stated, and before Kent knew it, he was seized by some guards and dragged out of the audience to the stand. The King gave the White Rabbit a look and he blew his trumpet again.

     “Now presenting the trial of Kent Parson, who is accused of the crime of being stuck in the past.”

     Kent wasn’t really sure how he suddenly became the one on trial here, but the King was already calling witness to his crimes. The first witness to take the stand was the Caterpillar, it seemed.

     “And what have you witnessed in relation to the defendant’s crime?” The King asked her, and she took a drag before she answered.

     “The defendant who stands before you could not tell me who he was, clearly, when I asked him to. He gave me information that might have been significant in the past, but is meaningless now.” The Caterpillar testified, and Kent felt a bit nauseous as he remembered.

_“Who are you?” “Kent Parson, #90, alternate captain, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League… Jack Zimmerman’s best friend.”_

     With that testimony, the Caterpillar stepped down, and it was the Mad Hatter that took her place. The King asked a similar question about what it was that the Mad Hatter witnessed.

     “Well fuck, the defendant lied to me. Saying that he had never been to a party before, which we all know is a damn lie. And he became confused over his team and his own stats.” The Hatter told the court, and Kent could feel the jersey that he was wearing more than ever. Number 90 of the Las Vegas Aces.

_“Yes yes, Kent Parson, of the Las Vegas Aces, has not really been to a party. That’s a goddamn lie, now isn’t it?”_

     Kent didn’t know what to do, especially when the March Hare and the Dormouse took the stand to corroborate the Hatter’s story.  Everyone that he had spoken to here in Wonderland seemed to be a nail in his coffin. Kent still found the idea of the crime to be ridiculous, but he also didn’t make the law here.

     “Is there anyone else who would like to testify?” The King asked, and Kent didn’t know what to do. In desperation, Kent looked to Jack, who had been quiet for most of both trials.

     “Zimms, please, you have to tell them this is ridiculous,” Kent was nearly pleading to the Queen of Hearts, and Jack simply looked at Kent blankly.

     “Parson, I can’t do that. You have to see how ridiculous you are being. I will never be an Ace like you.”

     Kent bolted upright in bed, with his heart beating fast and his breathing a little short. His sudden motion disturbed both of his bedmates, with Kit shifting at his feet while giving him a look for disturbing her beauty rest, and Swoops sleepily sitting up to check on him.

     “Kent, you okay?” Jeff’s voice was still rough with sleep, but Kent could still tell he was worried about him. In the haze of his dream, Kent had forgotten that Swoops had stayed over that night, after they had been drinking. Always safer for him to stay at Kent’s place than to drive home, and there wasn’t a concern about the two of them sharing the bed together since they had done that so many times before, both clothed and naked.

     “Yeah, yeah. I just… I had a really weird dream.” Kent offered to him as he tried to work the two of them back into a laid-down-and-sleeping position. He wanted Kit to come back up to lay with them, but he wasn’t sure if she would be back that night.

     “Hm… That’s what you get for drinking so much,” Swoops teased sleepily, and Kent sighed with a little chuckle. “Do you need to talk about it?” There it was, that concern again.

     “No, it was just weird.” Kent pauses for a moment to really think about it. Stuck in the past. Maybe that was a problem for Kent, one that should be solved. “I’ll tell you about it in the morning, okay?”

     “You better not forget about it before morning then? I wanna hear all about this weird ass dream you had,” Jeff teased Kent again, and it brought a smile to his face.

     “I promise, I won’t forget.” Kent then kissed Swoops lazily before he fell back asleep in his arms. This time, luckily, there was no rabbit hole to Wonderland to fall down.


End file.
